The present invention relates to logic circuits and to clock generators made therefrom and, in particular, to MOS logic circuits and to MOS clock generators made therefrom, both being suitable for fabrication by integrated circuit (IC) techniques.
Existing integrated logic circuits often require a plurality of clock pulses having defined, predetermined phase relationships among themselves. Often these pulses are supplied by clocks, integrated or otherwise, external to the logic circuits which utilize them. The use of external clocks requires wire or the like interconnections which complicate manufacturing and increase the overall size of the logic circuits. Moreover, if the clocks are not implemented as IC's, the advantages inherent in IC usage are partly lost.
Also, many integrated clocks employ internal loads, thereby requiring that there be a bias current from a power supply. Energy from the power supply must be dissipated on the chip on which the clock resides, limiting packing density.
A specific object of this invention is, therefore, to provide FET logic circuits from which FET clocks may be formed entirely "on-chip" by MOS techniques, along with other circuits which utilize the clock's output.
A further object of this invention is the provision of such circuits and a clock using only FET gates wherein the only current required is that supplied to output loads driven by the clock, and wherein such output load current is supplied by inputs to the clock.